The Diocese of Rapid City, South Dakota, announced “with sorrow” that its shepherd, Bishop Peter Muhich, died Feb. 17.

“Bishop Peter, 62, was in hospice care after suffering from esophageal cancer. Please continue to pray for the soul of our shepherd,” the diocese said in a statement. “Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and may your perpetual light shine upon him.”

A funeral Mass was scheduled for Feb. 26 at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Rapid City.

Two days earlier, a message from the diocese called for a novena for their bishop Feb. 15-22, the feast of the Chair of St. Peter. “In our prayers for Bishop Peter leading up to this feast, we are also giving thanks for his leadership and imploring the Lord that we may enjoy this leadership for more years to come,” it said.

On Feb. 14, Bishop Muhich announced he was moving into hospice treatment, and planned to offer his suffering from cancer to increase devotion to the Eucharist.

“I have reached another step along my journey with cancer. Despite the best efforts of my health care team, all treatment options have been exhausted and there is no more that can be done without causing greater harm to my system,” Bishop Muhich said in an announcement released by the diocese. “Therefore I have accepted the recommendation of my doctors and will move to hospice as soon as a space is prepared for me.”

A native of Eveleth, Minnesota, Bishop Muhich attended St. John Vianney College Seminary in St. Paul and completed his formation for the priesthood in Belgium. He was ordained as a priest in the Diocese of Duluth in 1989.

The Diocese of Rapid City is part of U.S. Region VIII, which includes the dioceses in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. Archbishop Bernard Hebda of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis said in a statement that it was with great sadness that he learned of the passing of Bishop Muhich.

“My heart goes out to his parents and family, and to the clergy and faithful of Rapid City and Duluth, the two dioceses that he had served with such generosity,” the archbishop said. “An alumnus of Saint John Vianney Seminary, Bishop Peter will be missed by many of the priests of this Archdiocese as well.”

Archbishop Hebda said he ordained Bishop Muhich as he was installed in Rapid City in 2020, and he benefited from the bishop’s insights and witness the past four years.

“I will always be grateful for his wise counsel and excellent example,” the archbishop said. “He was a shepherd who truly loved his flock. I consider it a blessing to have been able to speak to him as he prepared to enter hospice late last week. In spite of his battle with cancer of the esophagus, he was a joyful laborer in the Lord’s vineyard until the end. May God reward him with rest after a life of faithful service.”

Father Joseph Taphorn, rector of The St. Paul Seminary in St. Paul, recalled in a statement that Bishop Muhich entrusted his diocese’s seminarians to the major seminary and quickly became “a great friend of our community and was a true example of a joyful, Catholic leader.” Last February, Bishop Muhich celebrated the installation of nine seminarians as lectors at the seminary.

Now, Father Taphorn said, “We pray for the repose of his soul and for all those he leaves behind on this earth, especially his family, seminarians and Catholics in the Diocese of Rapid City.”

Joe Ruff of The Catholic Spirit contributed to this report.